Rome If you Want To

You all may have been wondering when or if I was ever going to make my way down to Rome seeing that I have been here since January. 

Well I finally did it, I conquered Rome! 

With some help from Alex and Gracie of course.

People always have mixed feelings about Rome, they all have their opinions and rankings of favorite cities in comparison to Rome.

I thought it was incredible. 

Yes there is graffiti, dirt, and homeless people. Some parts smelled and the river was brown. But hey guess what, it is a city and there is poverty and pollution. That is what happens, it happens at home too. 

Rome had these flaws, but other parts were very picture-esk Italy. The type of image that comes to mind if you think of a typical Italian street.

A narrow road, lined with mustard yellow and tan colored buildings that are covered in ivy. Flowers mysterically blooming from the roof where the sun shines down. Open green shutters allowing a light breeze to flow in, just enough to catch the curtains and give them a sense of life as they blow in the wind. A vespa sitting in front of the doorway, and an accordion player serenading the pedestrians as they stroll by. 

This was a very average street in Rome if you were in the right areas. It was quaint, and the prime idea of Italian culture and scenery. 

Let me back track to the beginning of the trip.

First of all, I was oober excited for this trip since I had not traveled with Gracie since Venice, and that whirlwind of commotion and it was just not enough. The three of us work very well together and I knew it was going to be a great time with the perfect people and perfect weather. AND IT WAS.

While we were there (2 days) we saw: The Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Castel Sant' Angelo, Spanish Steps, then went to Trastevere- that was all on the first day. The second day we saw Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palentine, Circus Maximus, The Capital, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Nevona. 

Can you guess that we were busy busy busy?

(I will not go into detail about everything we did and saw for the sake of your sanity)

The Sistine Chapel was the first thing and when I walked in, I literally had to gasp for air because it was so overwhelming and moving. Tears came to my eyes- that whole jazz. I really liked it because of the atmosphere as well. When we walked in it was a darker room, the guard made us be quite, and there was what I believe to be a harp playing light music in the background. Just such an indescribable feeling. I didn't want to leave but I knew that if I did not, my appreciation level was just going to go down until I did not appreciate it any longer. 

We headed toward the Vatican right after. We knew we would be in line forever and we mentally prepared ourselves before hand- and thank goodness we did. The line wrapped around the entire Piazza, but it moved quickly. All in all we were waiting around for a half hour. St. Peters Basillica is mammoth. I think just knowing all that symbolizes in the Catholic Church and realizing how important of a building I was standing in made it seem bigger than other Cathedrals I have been in. 

the tomb of St. Peters

 In case you are wondering, I did not see the Pope- but I did see his guards standing at their post. they looked ridiculous in their ribbon like outfits, but they were much less impressive than the English guards seen with the black furry hats who can't smile, laugh, react, or flinch to anything you do. These swiss guards tried to look mean but when a man walked through the gates, the guard was laughing and joking with him when explaining that no, he could not just waltz right through to see the Pope. I was slightly disappointed, I must say.

At Castel Sant' Angelo I learned what a Bation was. It apparently is the area of a castle, usually rounded and located on the corner, where the canons come out and the walls look like this:  |_|  |_|  |_|  |_|  |_|
That is probably the worst illustration I have ever done- it is too ridiculous to delete.
I was really confused as to exactly what the Castel Sant' Angelo was, then was informed it was many things. First a fort for a king, then a prison where people were brought to die in the middle ages, and then a holder for the Pope's apartments. Very random. It was a really cool place though, I liked it.

there was a giant head statue. He was so serious- so I felt the need to be too.

it looked like a time capsule

bation!

bation! And brown river!

ruins

In the midst of trying to find an internet cafe to print the tickets for the Castel Sant' Angelo, we ran by the weirdest thing I had ever seen.
These two Buddhist monks who were meditating on the street. The weird part was that one was balancing on a hollow bamboo shoot thing. I inspected the situation and found no way this could be a hoax. I did not understand, I actually still don't.

WHAT THE HECK.

Okay after that, gelato is needed. Which is exactly what we did while we sat on the Spanish Steps. These things are made out of marble, so they are pretty slippery. Women were literally walking up and down them in 6 1/2 inch stiletto heels. Um, what? Watching them walk down was funny though because they had to lean backward just to be able to balance their bodies correctly. It wasn't even like they conquered a major battle when they got down because the streets are made of small uneven cobble stones. I just don't get it.

fun fact: Tyra Banks did a photo shoot here and  it was featured on Americas Next Top Model

So up to this point we were doing great- the metro was a breeze, we found things in a snap. Pshhh we thought we could handle anything. WRONG.
Our next place was Trastevere. This is a town across the river that is comparable to Greenwich Village in New York. A regional train looked to be the easiest way to get there out of our options which also included tram, metro, and bus. Again, again so wrong.
After it taking a good half hour to find the train, we walked onto a platform of nothingness. We asked about 4 people before being convinced that yes, this was the train we needed to be on. We get off the train- again nothingness.
The word "preserver" played a big role in our lives during this time.
We are walking, walking, walking, it is not really pretty, very residential, and for the life of me I could not find where we were on the map. Probably because our map was bought at a souvenir shop and it SUCKED. Still, with being the designated direction girl, I get very worked up when I can't navigate properly.
We come to find out that, just kidding, we were a half hour off our map and where we wanted to be. Welp- onto the tram.
YAY made it!
It was a long long trip well worth it. Apparently, the comparison stands true. The cutest shops and restaurants were here. It was a great way to end the day.

On the way home- there was about 2 more hours of conflicts with transportation, Alex slept through most of it. I will not get into that though- we made it and that is all that matters.

Day 2- Started with Colosseum. SO COOL.
We already had tickets so there was no need to stand in line- that was an awesome feeling.
There was one part of the Colosseum that was still in tact enough where you could see the seats people used to sit in and the way they got up to the different levels, and if I focused hard enough- I was able to piece it together and visualize it all put together and how it used to be. It was surreal. Apparently, there was multiple levels and secret passage ways where they would release the lions and wild animals and such. They also used to flood it and do something with boats and stuff. It was crazy.
I have a new found respect for gladiators.

note the one area with seats- then picture the rest with the same

this under layer was used after the Roman empire fell. People used to make homes here for a very long time. We could not go through.

Right after we left my camera died. =[ I suck and forgot to charge it. mer. BUT I was luckily with two photographers and told them to take pictures of things for me for the rest of the day so that means my pictures are going to be even better than they normally would have.

The Roman Forum was awkwardly really hard to find. We all had our bags with us as well because we had to check out of the apartment before we left for the day. So I was a bit hot and was not into exploring more than needed. e walked around about the entire Roman Forum before we found the entrance. This was really cool too and did not know that it was used for so many things throughout the years. It was first used for a cemetery. Weird eh?

Last picture I was able to take of the Roman Forum

By the time we walked through to the Palentine Hall/ Palace/ Museum thing we were beyond exhausted. Gracie made a joke and I could barely laugh.
 At one point we put our heads down on a ledge and gave ourselves 10 seconds to pull it together before popping up, refreshed, and remembering we were in a beautiful place with amazing people and that were young energized students eager to absorb all of Rome.
it actually worked. We were off to meet up with Caitlin in Circus Maximus.
Not before getting lost around the Capitol though.
We at least got to see the original sculpture of the She Wolf with the baby Remus and Romulus.

Circus Maximus is nothing. I knew there weren't many ruins there, but I thought I would see at least a pillar or something. No. It was just a park with a biking expedition that day. This originally was the place, build in a similar manner to the Colosseum, just longer, and is where they had the chariot races.

Trevi Fountain was really relaxing. We got some sun, we each made a wish, and Alex took a nap. Here we saw our 3rd wedding of the day. The bride and groom were just going around all dressed up and taking pictures in front of things. Weird.

The Pantheon was next. The top of the structure caught my attention because there was an open circle at the ceiling so they could tell time depending on where the sun was showing through.
Here we ate this magnificent thing called granita del'caffe. It looked like ice cream, but it was what tasted to be espresso with ice and milk or something blended together- forming the consistency of gelato. This was scooped into a cup covered with homemade whipped cream. When stirred together, it tasted like a frap but thicker. I loved it and I am bound and determined to figure out how to make it myself.

From there we took the rest of our time very easily. We walked around, shopped a little, sat down and had a beer, talked about our lives, back home, our goals, and our accomplishments.

Then it was time to head home.

Throughout this trip I got to know the girls so much better. That sounds weird, because I mean I live with Alex and have known Gracie for months now- but there is so much to learn. I wanted to really work on the friendships I am investing in and build those. It was a really amazing trip and I feel so much closer to the girls.

Ciao!